February 9, 2013

ANYONE FOR PRINCIPLES?

Whatever happened to principles? Don’t you and I have them in our lives? Don’t they guide our actions and form a foundation for interpersonal trust?

If you examine the issues facing our society, you will find a large number of inconsistencies and just plain lying by our leaders. Given this barrage, it is so easy to simply numb ourselves and turn away.

It can be an awakening when you realize, ” wait a minute, this is my life, and that of my loved ones, present and future. Let me wake up and check this out! Is this true or not?”

Then when the next election occurs, and the machine finds ways to anger you, and if you care to vote as 53% of us did in 2012, we may stop reacting like conditioned pets.

The Obama Democrats have mastered the Blame Game strategy. Consequently, they received many of the ANTI votes from those oblivious to the important issues facing our country.

Like freedom, debt, government control of our lives, personal responsibility, foreign policy and health care.

Anger is way more fun. You know, ” I’ll show them they’re no better than me,” and so on. ” Who do they think they are anyway!”

It turns out that those who fired us up are dumping their “people’s” agenda on our country. Have you checked out the recent decline in your paycheck? Or that, under Obamacare, the CBO projects that 7 million of us will lose coverage? Or that premiums have already greatly increased?

Searching for principles that govern the decisions and statements of our leaders can be quite fruitless. It seems that principled consistency is of no relevance for many politicians. Some still bleat about them in speeches, and others probably started their careers with them. But most seem incapable of logical consistency and standing on principle, even on comparable issues.

Here is one example.

When George W. Bush was president, there was a controversy over the use of what became known as ” enhanced interrogation techniques.” This essentially referred to waterboarding terrorists in an effort to extract information that would protect American lives by preventing attacks. Some Democrats vehemently described this as a form of torture.

The media and the Democrats in Congress, and later the Obama administration, decried the use of such methods. They stated it was inhumane and did not work, in spite of evidence to the contrary.

One can access a multitude of video clips from the Bush years and Obama’s first term to personally view the furor with which Democrats denounced such tactics. The liberal media, leftist mimics that they are, piled on in print, network and cable television news shows.

So what was the principle? It was simply that to use such measures was inhumane and did not reflect the essence of American law and morality. Perhaps the Geneva Convention was tossed in as another standard that forbade such methods, with that document referring to the treatment of prisoners of war.

However, the Obama administration informed us that these were criminals entitled to the same rights as you and I as Americans. So if they were not enemy combatants, did such provisions for their treatment still apply?

Prior to that, we had the Abu Ghraib prison controversy in Iraq, whereby American guards took photos of prisoners in bizarre positions, some in their undergarments or intimating sexual acts, and subjected them to other activities that were seen as demeaning.

To the Democratic left and their media supporters, this was another example of the horrors brought upon the innocent by Bush and Dick Cheney. A great scandal.

Of course, the enemy beheaded American citizens while they were still alive and videotaped it. OK, it wasn’t as awful as pictures of people in their underwear taken by those horrid Americans. Still….

There was much hand wringing and finger-pointing in America because of these prison events. Bush and Cheney were guilty of great evils.

In fact, in the first Obama administration, under the Department of Justice headed by the radical leftist Eric Holder, reviews were initiated to prosecute Bush administration officials, though these initiatives eventually fizzled out.

They did manage to destroy the legal career of Cheney aide, Scooter Libby, for “outing” a CIA employee, Valerie Plame. As it turned out, everyone knew she worked for the CIA. Furthermore, she was not an operations agent, and her role was innocuous. Her husband, a well-placed Democratic lawyer in DC, was also part of the outraged leftist gang that successfully went after Libby.

And now? Again, in the search for that rarest of gems, principle, here is what is happening today.

This administration has created a memo that essentially gives the president and his designate, in this case DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, the power to kill any American citizen thought to be involved with terrorist activities.

This includes no due process, such as a right to trial, representation and all the other legal protections afforded to any American citizen, either in civil or military courts, by the Constitution.

The issue is the use of drones to kill suspected or confirmed terrorist operators such as Anwar Al-Alaki. He was an American citizen and radical Islamist tied to attempted terrorist attacks in the US. American drones killed him in Yemen.

In the current program, the president shall appoint an overseer for such hits. In this case, they have proposed Napolitanto, she of the open borders policy for “protecting the homeland.” Such an action against a citizen will require no Congressional oversight or judicial review before they are attacked.

For those of us paying attention, it is clear that Obama is an Imperial President, probably our first, who has little regard for the people’s Congress, except as an object of blame. He has insulted the US Supreme Court Justices in a State of the Union speech.

By the way, did you know that his last State of the Union speech was geared to a seventh grade education? In fact, you can watch another this coming Tuesday, February 12. Hope we can understand it.

He has overridden the law on a number of occasions, using Executive Authority to do so in areas that had no such precedent. With a few exceptions, the media does not report this, let alone challenge it. Too busy swooning. Wonder what his favorite color is?

Let us not forget that a recent study of 18 – 29 year olds found that only 26% knew there were three branches of government. Let’s face it, this is an easy group to manipulate while abrogating many of the provisions of the US Constitution.

So, where are the voices from the left condemning the capricious murder of American citizens? None. Silent. The same ones, including our new Secretary of State, John Kerry, that blasted Bush/Cheney for waterboarding and Abu Ghraib, are nowhere to be heard.

Where is the principle here? Who stands on principle? Are we forever left to watch the Republicans bash the Democrats and vice versa? Is the principle anything goes if it can be used for political gain and power?

Do we stand for humane treatment of our enemies or not? Can we agree on what is humane treatment? Or can we agree that we should do whatever it takes anytime-anyplace to protect the American people? (a personal favorite)

Can we agree on what to call the Fort Hood massacre by the Islamic fascist psychiatrist? Is it, as the Obama administration has labeled it, an “act of workplace violence?”

Or is it a terrorist act? Since the killer yelled “Allah Hu Akbar” (god is great)while shooting innocent soldiers and civilians, could that be a clue? Is there a sensible principle here? Or is it more Crazy Logic?

And so it is almost impossible to assign credibility to many politicians running America. We have a president who lies with impunity. Most media do not bother to point this out or confront it. But some do, and they of course are blamed by the politicians. You know, shoot the messenger.

” We’re not lying, it’s Fox News! Let’s shut it down! Who needs that pesky first amendment!” Said the tolerant and caring liberal, lover of all things diverse but thought and speech.

It is quite remarkable, in spite of facts to the contrary, how credible the president is to a majority of voters and media. He has systematically broken promises made as a candidate and as president. This pattern is quite remarkable, and even for lying politicians, Obama stands out. Very smooth and practiced.

For our own good, of course…

This is a current example of the Obama administration’s disregard for Federal law. The area is illegal aliens and enforcement of the law by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the field.

We know that Federal laws require the prosecution of illegals that break into our country or exceed work or educational visa limits. We also know that these laws are not being enforced.

Therefore, some states like Arizona enacted their own law to authorize police to ask someone detained on another offense for proof of citizenship. Some of us know that Arizona was sued by the Obama/Holder Department of Justice. In fact, several states that enacted laws to protect their borders were sued by DOJ as well.

These lawsuits were brought even though Federal law, passed by the people’s Congress, requires enforcement similar to the laws passed by those states.

The states are being abused by 11 – 20 million illegals that drain educational, social service, correctional and health care resources provided though the efforts of working citizens who pay taxes.

Obama unilaterally declared that the offspring of illegals who met certain criteria were given a pathway to citizenship. Because, after all, it was “through no fault of their own” (a favorite liberal mantra) that they were here illegally in the US. And they were even declared to be “Dreamers.”

Of course over 20% of the prisoners in the entire US Correctional System are here illegally. You know, dreaming of breaking into our houses or worse.

Interesting side point. If you try to access FBI or State data on Hispanic crime rates, it is not available. Why? Because Hispanics are defined as an ” ethnicity and not a race.”

Guess where that data goes. It is lumped together with white crime rates, thus inflating the official crime rates among Caucasians.

Then, the FBI and others compare these numbers to Blacks, Native Americans, Asians and other groups, essentially falsely inflating the rates of one group to minimize the discrepancy with other groups, and hide the rates among Hispanics.

Don’t you just love government logic and uncommon sense?

But back to ICE. In the first Obama term, primarily through word of mouth, ICE field agents were told not to arrest illegal aliens unless they had committed a crime. Of course, it is a crime to be here illegally, is it not?

Under these mandates, ICE could not have detained the 9/11 terrorists that murdered almost 3000 of our fellow citizens.

For the Obama gang, legal status simply doesn’t count. In fact recently, Rep. Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, declared that illegals were actually “New Americans who were out of status.” Do you get it? They are Americans, just like an American citizen born here, or someone who has legally gone through the immigration process and become a citizen.

Just like my relatives and maybe yours as well. Why bother to come here legally, like so many millions are trying to do right now?

However, these illegals are now “Americans,” says Conyers and most of his fellow Democrats. If I break into China, am I now Chinese? Or Costa Rican? Or Russian?

In fact, although the approval rating of Congress is somewhere between 9 – 14%, lower than a colonoscopy or a cockroach in one study, we the people re-elected 21/22 incumbent Senators and 353/373 of the incumbents in Congress. Obama now has an approval rating of 60%.

We have an effective unemployment rate that includes those who have stopped looking for work of over 11%.

Some say we get the government that we deserve.

In this early second Obama term, written policy from Janet Napolitano, DHS Secretary, and AG Eric Holder, now forbids ICE agents from arresting illegals. In fact, if they are criminals, they are only to be arrested if their crimes meet certain criteria, for example, three or more misdemeanors. Some criminals are OK.

But Federal law says they must be arrested. Obama and his radical comrades have declared that law, like the Defense of Marriage Act, invalid and not to be enforced.

Now, several courageous and patriotic ICE agents are suing the Obama administration, claiming they are being forced to violate the law and are unable to do their jobs. It is our tax dollars, those of us who produce, that pay for these programs.

Anyone want to place bets on whether the agents keep their ICE jobs?

This scheme, like the catch phrase ” immigration reform,” is simply designed to increase the Democratic voter base.

Obama’s two primary goals are punishing the successful and wiping out the Republican opposition. He has already dismissed Congress and the Judiciary by making his own laws and invalidating those now on the books.

So, Crazy Logic. It is clear that power is the only objective. Principle is to be spouted at campaign events. The more outraged and blaming, or smooth and soothing, the greater the effect on the clueless American voter, an ever expanding group today.

“He/she told them off but good!” “They’re no better than me!” “He/she seems so sincere.” “He/she really cares.” “He /she is my friend.”

Today is the funeral of Chicago teen, Hadiya Pendleton, age 15. She was gunned down while talking with a group of friends a few blocks from her school. Hadiya had recently participated as a member of her school’s majorette team at the inauguration of Obama. That must have been a very proud moment for she and her family.

But in the murder capital of the US, Chicago, she was yet another of the almost 45 victims who have died this year. At her funeral, Michelle Obama will be attending. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has talked to the family. And Governor Patrick Quinn of Illinois will be there as well.

The president has not commented on this murder, or the fact that Chicago violence among minorities is out of control. He did not hesitate to comment in the Trayvon Martin case, when it was alleged that a white man had killed the teen. In fact, along with his racist Democratic colleagues, he quickly blamed the shooter.

But no mention of Hadiya’s death or the slaughter of so many kids on the streets of Chicago. The politicos are all of a sudden very concerned, and will get their photo ops at Hadiya”s funeral. They will show us how”caring” they are.

They may pontificate about gun control, with no mention of the individuals that shoot the guns and commit the crimes.

The second example of blatant hypocrisy is the case of the Pakistani teen, Malalla Yousefzai. The 15-year-old was released from a UK hospital yesterday.

At age 14, Malalla was an advocate for access to education for girls in her country. The Taliban came on her school bus on the way home and shot her in the head. She was accused of promoting ” Western Thinking.” She called for a more liberal interpretation of the Islamic religion by the Taliban, notorious persecutors of women and girls.

For this, she went through intensive medical care, including a recent skull reconstruction. This was done because the swelling in her brain required removal of a portion of the skull. In addition, she received a cochlear implant to allow her to hear. The shooting apparently damaged the auditory nerve in the brain.

In addition, because bullets entered her brain, she has lost cognitive and other abilities. Now, a news story says she actually read a book. So, Malalla will be impaired for the rest of her life.

Where are the voices of the feminists like Hilary Clinton, Susan Rice and the liberal Supreme Court Justices? Where is the voice of the president decrying such violence against girls and women in Middle Eastern countries?

By the way, Hilary Clinton’s popularity is described as “soaring.” Where are the principled voters who know how to think? How about the Benghazi bungling and cover-up of the murder of four of our fellow citizens?

Such unprincipled politicos do not forcefully speak against these injustices. Where is the National Organization for Women (NOW), and their outrage? Have they any principle besides being abortion advocates? Are they pro-woman or not? Where is the voice of the First Lady, the Senators and House members?

Mawalla, courageous girl that she is, has vowed to keep fighting for girls’ access to education.

Where was the president’s voice when several million Iranians attempted to fight back against the fascist mullahs? Where was the outrage when the young Iranian girl lay dying in the streets of Tehran, gunned down by a government sniper? Where is the principle?

If you take an issue and ask yourself if the politician you are about to vote for has been consistent, you may be surprised. You may even awaken to their hypocrisy and lack of true principle if one gets past the phony blame distractions.

In fact, their principle might simply be gathering power, money, influence or whatever the prize of the moment might be. This will not sit well with you, especially if you drop your identification with a party.

Think as an independent and make your choices from that perspective.

As a friend said, ” I feel like we are living in a snow globe world that someone turned upside down, keeps shaking and will not stop.”

We can look for principled consistency and reject those corrupted by the system or lack of personal ethics. We can find other people who will stand their ground.

We can be freed from the Crazy Logic now running our country and our lives. We must first recognize it in order to formulate a plan of action. It is our country and our government. If we just keep doing the same dumb things, we will get the same dumb result.

Be informed. Be awake. Use your eyes and ears and mind to understand what is happening. Question your assumptions. Be a source of power and change for the better, for your principles. Stand up to the lying.